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Sisters Emma and Quinn Joy Partner with IFPO to Provide Funding for Feminine Hygiene Products 
SOUTH ORANGE, N.J., October 19, 2018 – In 2014, sisters Emma and Quinn Joy of South Orange founded Girls Helping Girls. Period (GHGP), a non-profit organization that provides feminine hygiene products to girls and adults who cannot afford them. As members of Temple Sharey Tefilo-Israel (TSTI), one of four houses of worship that supports the Interfaith Food Pantry of the Oranges (IFPO), the teens have expanded their organization’s reach by committing to financially support a program that offers IFPO clients feminine hygiene products monthly. The program, “Period Initiative,” is administered by the Community Food Bank of New Jersey and ensures that no one goes without these basic necessities.
Emma, 18 and Quinn, 15, founded Girls Helping Girls. Period after discovering students in their school district were skipping school when they had their periods because they could not afford adequate feminine hygiene products. The organization educates people on the need for these products for disadvantaged girls and adults, and collects and distributes them through school systems, food pantries and social service agencies.
The sisters have a longstanding commitment to social action, nurtured at TSTI, and have received support from the synagogue community over the years. They were both nominated by Education Director Mindy Schreff for the 18 Under 18 Award given by the Partnership for Jewish Learning and Life, with which they were honored; and TSTI’s Women’s Connection group has run fundraisers and collects supplies for GHGP. Their mother, Elise Joy, is the executive director of GHGP and serves as the Reform synagogue’s VP of Education.
“One in four women has struggled to purchase menstrual products due to lack of income,” noted Joy. “We are glad we can extend financial assistance to the Period Initiative to benefit IFPO clients on a regular basis. And we are thankful to our TSTI community for supporting GHGP, helping us make a difference for women and girls right here in Essex County.”
Temple Sharey Tefilo-Israel (TSTI) is a dynamic, inclusive Reform congregation that offers numerous ways for members to connect with and celebrate being part of the Jewish community and the world. Welcoming Jews by birth or by choice, interfaith, traditional and non-traditional families, and children of all abilities, TSTI provides lifelong learning and enriching programs for all members through a full complement of religious services, early childhood and religious school education, cultural programs, and activities that foster connection, engagement and community outreach in a joyful, judgment-free environment. TSTI is located at 432 Scotland Road in South Orange, drawing members from Maplewood, South Orange, West Orange, Short Hills, Millburn, Livingston and surrounding areas. For more information, visit www.tsti.org.
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Photo Caption:
(L. to R.) Quinn and Emma Joy with their mother, Elise Joy at the Interfaith Food Pantry of the Oranges (IFPO); the Joys’ organization, Girls Helping Girls. Period has formally partnered with IFPO to provide financial support that will enable the food pantry’s clients to receive feminine hygiene products every month. The Joys are members of Temple Sharey Tefilo-Israel in South Orange.
About Temple Sharey Tefilo-Israel
432 Scotland Road, South Orange, NJ 07079
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